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A Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnut is made from at least 50 ingredients – mostly artificial food additives that increase your risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, allergies, and digestive disorders.
These additives are in much of our processed foods – I’m using Krispy Kremes as an example because of their popularity among birthday parties my kids attend.
We don’t have to deny our kids special treats for birthdays and special celebrations, but we do have the responsibilityto make better choices to what goes into their bodies.
Growing Evidence of the Harmful Health Effects of Food Additives
“In the last 20 years, we’ve seen a 400 percent increase in food allergies. It’s not just about milk or nuts anymore. Dyes, chemicals and synthetic hormones are causing serious health problems. And these reactions can be anything from physical, like a rash or upset stomach, to emotional or behavioral issues.”
– Robyn O’Brien, founder of The Allergy Kids Foundation (Quoted in the Chicago Tribune).
Food additives are used to prolong shelf life and preserve flavor and color. Krispy Kreme pride themselves on delivering a consistent product – their Original Glazed will taste the same in New York City as in Santa Monica. They rely on these artificial food additives so they can process their bulk flour mix in their Winstom-Salem headquarters and ship nationwide to individual franchises for final uniform baking.
It’s hard to measure the long-term effects of years of consuming these additives and they are always tested as individual additives never in combination – how it is found in most of our foods.
In addition to increased cancer risk and cardiovascular disease, food additives are associated with other health conditions that can include;
- irritability, restlessness, poor sleep
- mood swings, anxiety, depression, panic attacks
- difficulty concentrating or debilitating fatigue
- speech delay, learning difficulties
- eczema, skin rashes, and swelling
- reflux, colic, stomach aches, bloating, and other irritable bowel symptoms including constipation and/or diarrhea, bedwetting
- headaches and migraines
- frequent colds, flu, bronchitis, tonsillitis, sinusitis; stuffy or runny nose, constant throat clearing, cough or asthma
- joint pain, arthritis, heart palpitations, racing heartbeat
– From the Fed Up With Food Additives Website
The Delaney Clause of the 1958 Food Additives Amendment
“There are more than 3000 different chemicals that are purposefully added to our food supply. The testing is generally done by the company that wants to produce the chemicals or to use the chemical additives in the foods they produce … political pressure has caused the FDA to relax [the Delaney Clause] and allow small amounts of cancer causing substances to be used in foods.”
– Ruth Winter, Food Additives: A Shopper’s Guide To What’s Safe & What’s Not
In 1958 Congress established a GRAS list, or Generally Recognized as Safe, but it is left to the manufacturer to determine this.
In 1960 the Color Additive Amendment was passed and includes a provision, known as the Delaney Clause, that prohibits any additives shown to cause cancer in humans or animals to be added to our food. This is not being enforced. Artificial colors proven to increase cancer risks, hyperactivity in children, and allergies are still found in our food. (In the European Union, foods with artificial colors must state a warning: “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” EU Places Warning Labels on Foods Containing Dyes )
Some additives are listed as “natural” flavorings or colorings but can contain over 40 chemical compounds – another misleading label.
Genetically Modified Foods (GMO) do not require labeling though 91% of soy is estimated to be genetically modified, 85% of corn, 71% of cotton, 88% canola, and 90% of sugar beets. It’s difficult to determine how much of a food has been genetically modified. Read why you should avoid GMO foods.
Krispy Kreme Ingredients Deconstructed
A homemade doughnut recipe may call for 8-10 ingredients consisting of flour, sugar, eggs, butter, yeast, oil, salt, milk/water, and few others depending on variations and flavors.
This is the ingredient list of a plain sugar glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut;
KRISPY KREME ORIGINAL GLAZED DOUGHNUT
Serving size 1 doughnut (52 grams)
Ingredients: Enriched bleached wheat flour- (contains bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine, mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), dextrose, vegetable shortening (partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil), water, sugar, soy flour, egg yolks, vital wheat gluten, yeast, nonfat milk, yeast nutrients (calcium sulfate, ammonium sulfate), dough conditioners (calcium dioxide, monocalcium and dicalcium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, sodium stearoyl-2-lacrylate, whey, starch, ascorbic acid, sodium bicarbonate, calcium carbonate), salt, mono-and-diglycerides, ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides, lecithin, calcium propionate (to retain freshness), cellulose gum, natural and artificial flavors, fungal alpha amylase, amylase, maltogenic amylase, pantosenase, protease, sodium caseinate, corn maltodextrin, corn syrup solids and BHT (to help protect flavor).
Glaze also may contain: Calcium carbonate, agar, locust bean gum, disodium phosphate, and sorbitan monostearate.
Glaze also may contain: Calcium carbonate, agar, locust bean gum, disodium phosphate, and sorbitan monostearate.
Enriched bleached wheat flour – white flour. The bran and the germ portion of the whole wheat, rich in vitamins and minerals, are refined out. Bleaching is usually done with chlorine which destroys more of the vitamins and must be added back artificially. To compensate for refining out around 20 nutrients, 4 synthetic nutrients are added, niacin (vitamin B3), reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate (synthetic vitamin B1), and riboflavin (vitamin B2). Can lead to nutritional imbalances,
- bleached wheat flour,
- Niacin – a B vitamin made from water, air and petroleum,
- reduced iron Generally recognised as safe,
- thiamine – a B vitamin, made from coal tar,
- mononitrate,
- riboflavin – a B vitamin commonly made from candida yeasts or other bacteria,
- folic acid – vitamin made from petroleum (mostly from china),
dextrose– Carrier, Disintegrating Agent, Dispersing Agent, Formulation Aid, Humectant, Moisture-Retaining Agent, Nutritive Sweetener, Tableting Aid, Texture-Modifying Agent, Texturizer
vegetable shortening (partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil) associated with heart disease, breast and colon cancer, atherosclerosis and elevated cholesterol, and obesity. Trans fat is known to increase the “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and decrease the “good” cholesterol (HDL). It can clog your arteries and cause Type 2 Diabetes, as well as other serious health problems. They disrupt nerve cell intercommunication – associated with ADHD and ADHDlike symptoms. May contain undeclared synthetic antioxidants (310-312, 319-321), most likely BHA 320 or TBHQ 319, which affect children’s health, behavior and learning.
water,
sugar – mostly from sugar beets. Refined sugars can promote obesity, tooth decay, and heart disease,
soy flour,
egg yolks,
vital wheat gluten,
yeast,
nonfat milk,
yeast nutrients
- calcium sulfate – Dietary Supplement, Dough Conditioner, Firming Agent, Nutrient, Sequestrant, Yeast Food,
- ammonium sulfate – may cause mouth ulcers, nausea, kidney and liver problems,
dough conditioners
- calcium dioxide – irritating to the skin,
- monocalcium and dicalcium phosphate – skin and eye irritant,
- diammonium phosphate – also used as a fertilizer, fire retardant, used in animal feed as a source of non-protein nitrogen and phosphorous,
- sodium stearoyl-2-lacrylate – emulsifier, plasticizer, surfactant,
- whey,
- starch,
- ascorbic acid – Antioxidant, Dietary Supplement, Nutrient, Preservative
- sodium bicarbonate – Alkali, Leavening Agent
- calcium carbonate – in general can cause mineral deficiencies,
salt,
mono-and-diglycerides – Emulsifier, Foaming Agent, Stabilizer, Suspending Agent, Whipping Agent,
ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides – dough conditioners used to increase volume, emulsifier – may be soy, corn, peanut or fat based. They may cause genetic changes, cancer, birth defects, and allergic reactions,
lecithin – emulsifier,
calcium propionate – (to retain freshness) mold inhibitor,
cellulose gum – made from cotton byproducts, used as a stabilizer shown to cause cancer in animals,
natural and artificial flavors – A single natural or artificial flavor can contain many ingredients; for example the artificial “strawberry” flavor contains 49 ingredients or chemical compounds. Companies keep the identity of artificial (and natural) flavorings secret. Flavorings may include substances to which some people are sensitive, such as MSG or HVP, another way to avoid declaring them on the label – associated with allergies, asthma, hyperactivity, possible carcinogen, allergic or behavioral reactions,
fungal alpha amylase – enzyme secreted by many fungi,
amylase – enzymes from various fungi used as antibacterial additives, imparts flavor, causes the bread to rise. Workers in factories that work with amylase are at increased risk of occupational asthma,
maltogenic amylase – an enzyme preparation produced by recombinant DNA techniques,
pantosenase – information not found,
protease enzymes,
sodium caseinate – casein texturizer, chemically produced milk powder,
corn maltodextrin – starch used as a texturizer and flavor enhancer. Produced by the chemical or enzyme breakdown of corn starch,
corn syrup solids – produced by the chemical or enzyme breakdown of corn starch, corn sugar may cause allergic reactions,
BHT – (to help protect flavor) retards rancidity in oils, can cause liver and kidney damage, allergic reactions, hyperactivity and behavioral problems, infertility, weakened immune system, birth defects, cancer; should be avoided by infants, young children, pregnant women and those sensitive to aspirin, may be toxic to the nervous system, (BHT – banned in England),
Glaze also may contain:
Calcium carbonate – chalk, used as an emulsifier, may cause constipation, occurs naturally in limestone,
agar– stabilizer and thickener obtained from various seaweed,
locust bean gum – a thickener and stabilizer in cosmetics and food extracted from the seeds of the carob tree,
disodium Phosphate – used commercially as an anti-caking additive in powdered products. May cause mild irritation to the skin and mucus membranes,
and sorbitan monostearate – referred to as a synthetic wax, emulsifier, defoamer, and flavor dispersing additive.
What Can You do
Read labels!! We cannot rely on the government to monitor these additives – there is too much industry influence.
For special treats nothing beats homemade but at least seek out better options like local bakeries and natural food stores that use real ingredients – not a mixture of chemicals.
SOURCES and RECOMMENDED READING:
Fed Up With Food Additives – website
Little Known Secrets About Bleached Flour – Mercola.com
How to Avoid Dangerous Genetically Modified Foods – Real Food Kosher
Food Dyes Pose Rainbow of Risks – Center for Science in the Public Interest
List of Additives and What they Do – About.com
Dangers of Food Additives – Discovery Health
Food Dyes and Allergies – Chicago Tribune
The Dirty Dozen – 12 Foods/Food Additives to Avoid and Why – Food Democracy
The Color of Trouble – Spoonfed Blog – Raising Kids to Think About the Food They Eat
Books
Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated into What America Eats
– by Steve Ettlinger
– by Steve Ettlinger
– by Ruth Winter
Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills
– by Russell Blaylock
– by Russell Blaylock
– by Jeffrey Smith